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Website allows you to share adventures

By Ashley Ludkowski For the Camera

Posted:
12/01/2012 01:00:00 AM MST

The website Expedition Underground was created for people to post tales of their adventures in life. Said contributor Joyce Brandt: "Everyone has something to share, and this is the perfect place to start." (Courtesy photo)

"We landed in the British ruled Hong Kong where we spent a week of pampered bliss. However, the real adventure began when we boarded the train in Hong Kong. Entering mainland China, we were commanded to disembark while machinegun-toting Chinese police inspected the train. Quang Chow was like a time-warp back to 1945."

For 76-year-old Joyce Brandt, the trip to China in 1980 she describes above was the first of many she would embark on over the years.

And, though her adventure was quite personal, she decided to share it with, well, anyone who cares to read about it on a fledgling website, expeditionunderground.com.

The Boulder-based Expedition Underground is tailored for anyone -- including you -- who wants to tell a story through words, photos and/or video. It is the brainchild of 26-year-old Marty Brodsky and 30-year-old Farid Khelfaoui, who wanted to create a platform for people to share their adventures, allowing them to spark that venturesome flame in others.

Brandt and her husband, Charlie, would frequent China over the years for his work in the design business. From gathering countless amounts of antique Chinese jewelry to waking up with large rodents breaking into their stash of back-up saltines, the Brandts have created countless memories they are now able to share with the world.

"Anything is an adventure in your life," said Joyce Brandt, who in 2008 was able to take the entire family to China. "You must not be intimidated by thinking it has to be something nobody else has done."

Joyce Brandt and her husband, Charlie, shop in China during the 1980 adventure Joyce shared at www.expeditionunderground.com. (Courtesy photo)

Even though Brandt's China experience was far from her home in St. Louis, one does not need to journey far from home to encounter adventure.

"Everything you read on Expedition Underground is very attainable and very real," Brodsky said, "because these are regular people doing these adventures.

"They are not professional adventurers, they are not sponsored athletes -- they are just regular people going to the mountains, the oceans, cultures or their own communities and finding amazing things."

For those of us who will not attempt to scale Mount Everest or hike the Andes, Expedition Underground offers experiences that are well within reach of anyone. It is a place for everyone to become engaged and have a voice.

A natural-born storyteller, Maureen McClintock stumbled upon the website and found it enticing enough to share one of her tales.

"In my world, life is about spirit and living is about enthusiasm," she said. "If you pay close attention, spirit will inspire you."

For McClintock, this spirit is found within nature and authentic feelings. A recounting of a moment in nature allows her story to remain nonspecific and accessible to everyone. She wrote, in part:

Cradled in the calm of spring, the sounds of the rising river move me. Savoring the grasses, wildflowers and honeysuckle that encircle me, I look out over the field and begin breathing again ... From my vantage point, the world is insane. Here is where I feel that familiar, spiritual, mystical emotion welling inside my chest.

"This allows for the unexpected, which creates depth and dimension," McClintock said.

Expedition Underground offers a platform for anyone -- and any type of adventure.

After Brodsky and Khelfaoui became roommates in March 2012, they quickly discovered their mutual enthusiasm for adventure.

"As we got deeper into the conversation about the concept," Brodsky said, "we realized our skills of a technical background and a writing/storytelling background meshed together perfectly to create this platform."

Having previously run a social network for skiers and snowboarders, Khelfaoui was excited to inspire others outside of winter sports. After graduating from the University of Colorado in 2009, Brodsky immediately caught the travel bug and went to South America.

That trip, combined with his background in social media, sparked the idea for Expedition Underground.

Ryan Sullivan, a recent contributor, liked the concept.

"The way I saw it," Sullivan said, "was it's inspirational to read other peoples adventures -- and you can share your own, different calibers, of course -- but it's all good stuff as long as you're out there having a good time."

Ideally, each submission is less than 1,000 words and packs a punch.

"We want them to get to the point quick, inspire people quick and leave them wanting more," Brodsky said. "So the point is, you're going to be wanting more and then you'll go find it."

It is a place for everyone to not only have a voice but to begin to build a portfolio.

"Some people naturally are not journalists, and they are intimidated about sending in their stories, but everyone has something to share," Brandt said, "and this is the perfect place to start."

New to the Boulder area, Chris Krohn found Expedition Underground a perfect platform to post vibrant photos of his trip to the mountains and share them with friends and family back home in Washington, D.C.

"They can get a nice package of the adventure I had and what I'm doing out here," Krohn said.

Launched in May, the site already has stories from every continent.

"People might not consider themselves to be adventurous, but everyone's got adventure inside of them," said Brodsky, noting that, for most folks, it's just a matter of recognizing it.

The goal of Expedition Underground is to inspire people to break out of their daily routine.

"And that is really powerful," Brodsky said, "because it makes you realize that it is possible, anything is possible, you just need to take the first step."

Added McClintock: "Having a sense of fun and wonder each day is an excellent way to ensure a sense of deep satisfaction when the day is done. Being as enthusiastic and open as possible can help us find adventure in all things magnificent and the rest of the world becomes insignificant."

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